1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a charging management system, and more particularly relates to an image forming apparatus and a charging management system that adopt a time charging method.
2. Description of the Related Art
A copying machine that can be used by unspecified customers is set up in various types of stores such as a convenience store. A coin vendor or a prepaid card reading machine for charging is provided next to such a copying machine. A user previously pays the desired amount of money through the coin vendor or the prepaid card reading machine. Thus, it is possible to perform printing corresponding to the amount of money paid.
Since in such a number-of-sheet charging method, a charge is determined by the number of sheets printed, even when the same number of sheets are printed, a user who performs time-consuming printing increases the time during which the copying machine is occupied. Hence, for example, the subsequent user may give up the use of the copying machine because the user has been kept waiting for a long time. In this case, the manager who sets up the copying machine loses an opportunity to provide the copying machine.
On the other hand, there is a time charging method in which charging is performed according to the time during which the image forming apparatus is used. However, when charging is performed simply according to time, for example, a problem may occur in which the image forming apparatus does not operate as the user expects due to a paper jam or the like and thus the user is also charged for the time during which printing cannot be performed.
Hence, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-88312 proposes a control configuration in which a detection unit that detects whether or not it is possible to satisfactorily perform printing processing is provided within an image forming apparatus and in which an actual usage time is measured based on the result of the detection.